I’m always a bit reluctant to start on the marmalade, since I know the hands are going to hurt from scraping the pith out of the skins! But after staring at the oranges on the work top for a few days, I got cracking yesterday. I use plenty of technology; an electric citrus juicer and the magimix for slicing the skins - once through the coarse disk then once through the fine one. But I still use mother’s preserving pan: it might even be Granny Smith’s. I need to find someone who can replace the rivets that hold the handle to the pan, since two have come off. Anyway, a kilo and a half of fruit plus a couple of lemons have made eight and a bit jars. I’ve only done one lot this year: we’ve been using less lately, and I found half a dozen jars in stock. Judging by the colour, two jars are from the year before last. I’ve never been much good at managing the pantry. Anyway, this year’s lot has set nicely and apart from the part-filled baby jar with the last drops, it’s all tucked away in the cupboard.
Quite a lot of traffic this morning at the feeders on the apple tree: a robin, a wren, great and blue tits and a nuthatch. Very pleased to see the nuthatch: it’s years since we’ve seen one in the garden. The great tits were pecking away at the frosty tree branches, perhaps to get some water. I’ve put out a pan of water for them, and break the ice from time to time. Roll on spring.
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